Movie Monday #3: To Love Is To Destroy

We are just over a year away from the the theatrical release of ‘The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones’ and the hype for the adaptation of the internationally best selling series by Cassandra Clare will only continue to grow as the release draws nearer.

With some help from fellow ‘Mortal Instruments’ fansites (TMI Institute, Mundie Moms,TMI Examiner and TMI News en Espanol) we’ve teamed up for a new weekly feature called Movie Monday

Each Monday leading up to the August 23, 2013, release of ‘The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones,’ we will take a look at a scene, moment, detail, etc. and give our opinions on how we think it will be interpreted in the big screen adaptation.

WEEK 3: “TO LOVE IS TO DESTROY”

Alyssa, TMI Source: “To love is to destroy” is one of, if not the most, popular quote in the fandom and this scene, while at first glance might seem ordinary, is actually quite important in revealing a certain broken aspect about Jace.

This is a scene that can benefit from cinematic adaptation. I could see the story of this young blonde boy (Jace) and his falcon being played out on screen while Jace narrates  as a voiceover. Of course it would be considerably shorter due to time constraints of the film vs. the book, but I think seeing it live action could eliminate the need for verbal details.

When we get to the oh-so-important “to love is to destroy” part, I can see the camera focusing on the golden eyes of the little boy and then fading into Jace’s eyes in the present, to let the audience know that Jace was that little boy. I think this scene could be very beautiful and I’m really looking forward to it.

Amber, TMI Institute: Jace’s story of his falcon HAS to be in the movie! I repeat…it has to be in the movie!! For someone who has not read The Mortal Instruments, I feel the viewers will need to see a foreshadowing of the type of person Valentine is, even though they won’t be able to connect the dots. The man is cruel and heartless and sees love as weak. This story also shows Clary a more tender side of Jace. She sees the boy that he was and how it relates to the man he is becoming. He was emotionally scarred and trained that to love someone is to break them. “The boy never cried again, and he never forgot what he’d learned: that to love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed.”

Katie, Mundie Moms: I’m really curious as to whether or not this will be put into the movie. On one hand I think it would be really cool to see Jace’s flashback while he’s telling Clary this story, on the big screen. At the same time I think they could get away with doing a quick mention of this in a scene. Of course I want them to keep every little thing from the book in the movie, but I know that’s not possible. haha I also think they could insert this out of sequence and put it with a scene that includes Jace and Valentine. Either way I’m hoping that at least a small part of this scene will be in the movie.

Natalie, TMI Examiner: For me this is one of the first moments when we really see that vulnerable side of Jace. This is a vital scene in establishing his characterization. I feel that Jamie showed this kind of range in ‘Camelot.’ I can’t wait to see how he brings this scene to life. In ‘City of Bones’ this is probably one of the most crucial scenes for Jace in helping him grow throughout the book. I can’t wait to see this scene!

Tita, TMI News en Espanol: Oh my… This is one of those scenes where Clare broken your heart. I mean, it’s something between tender and sad. Jace shows how sweet he is asking Clary to help her sleep telling her an story, but what an story…

This scene it’s a MUST BE in the movie! I bet it’s going to look pretty similar at the book (we all desire to see the book turned into movie exactly as the book is, right? Oh well, to dream is for free XD), because we need to know this story to understand Jace better. We can see a glimpse of how hard was Valentine with Jace when he was little, what kind of childhood he had, and this is something essential to understand why he is the way he is. I bet we’ll see a little Jace in a huge grassland holding a falcon and how Valentine gets the falcon and kill it.

AND, the most important of all, they have to include one of the most famous sentences from all TMI series! “To love is to destroy…” It’s not negotiable to leave out that part!

Check back next Monday for the next edition of Movie Monday.